TM
Difficulty Level = 7
The signs of war littered the hills of Dunland. Everywhere the
heroes looked there was smoke and blood and fire. Across a wide
valley, the bodies of Dunlending warriors lay slain in the dirt.
Some wore the trappings of the Boar tribe, others were dressed
with Raven feathers.
As the heroes searched the battlefield for survivors, they were
alerted to an approaching troop by the tromp of marching feet.
Looking in the direction of the sound, they descried the banners
of the Boar Clan flying above an army of Wild Men. Striding
proudly at the front was chieftain Turch wearing the Antlered
Crown. He halted when he saw the heroes.
“Well met,” said the chief with a smile. “I am glad to see you
again, but you cannot travel any further; our country is at war.”
His face was stern, but his eyes were weary.
He removed the Antlered Crown and wiped his brow, then
regarded the thing in his hand and frowned. “The Antlered
Crown has not united the Dunlending clans as I had hoped. The
leader of the Raven Clan has rejected my leadership and laid
claim to the crown for himself, instigating this fight.” The large
chieftain spat in the dirt to show his disdain.
“The cowards of the Wolf Clan have reserved their allegiance
for the moment, but if they should ally with the Raven, I fear we
will be overmatched,” he explained. Then, looking at the heroes
he continued, “Yet, if the emissaries of Saruman were to ally
themselves with us, the Boar Clan would surely be victorious!
And you would return to Isengard with the friendship of a united
Dunland. What say you?”
The heroes were reluctant to fight in the Dunlendings’ war. Yet,
even if they refused, it seemed unlikely that they could escape
Dunland unscathed. Better to fight alongside the Boar Clan than
to flee into danger, they decided, especially if it meant they might
earn friendship of the Wild Men for Saruman. Surely the threat of
Mordor demanded that all free peoples unite together?
Seeing an opportunity to strengthen the West, the heroes agreed
to march with Turch and his clan.
“Excellent!” bellowed the Boar chieftain. “Come, the Raven
Clan is still scattered among the hills. We must find their chief
before he gathers the rest of his clan to him. If we defeat the chief
of Ravens, the rest of his clan will submit.”
Chieftain Turch placed the Antlered Crown back on his head and
signaled to his men, “We march!”
“The Antlered Crown” is played with an encounter deck built
with all the cards from the following encounter sets:
The Antlered Crown, Dunlending Warriors, and Dunlending
Raiders. (Dunlending Warriors and Dunlending Raiders can be
found in The Voice of Isengard deluxe expansion to The Lord
of the Rings: The Card Game.)
The Raven Deck
When setting up The Antlered Crown, the players are instructed
to create the “Raven deck.” To do this, remove each enemy card
in both the Dunlending Warriors and Dunlending Raiders from
the encounter deck. Shuffle the removed enemy cards into a
deck. This is the Raven deck.
When a player is instructed to reveal a card from the Raven deck,
resolve the staging of that card as if it was just revealed from the
encounter deck. If a card with surge is revealed from the Raven
deck, the players must reveal the top card of the encounter deck
for the surge effect.
Whenever an enemy would leave play, it should be placed in
the discard pile of the deck that it originated from: An enemy
from the encounter deck should be placed in the encounter deck
discard pile. An enemy from the Raven deck should be placed
in the Raven deck discard pile. If the Raven deck is empty at
any time, shuffle the Raven deck discard pile back into the
Raven deck.